Despite what the birth certificate says, Mary Margarette Hopkins was born on September 25, 1935. Lynchburg, South Carolina, was still recovering from the destructive elements of the Labor Day Hurricane, and she arrived late at night to the delight of James and Evelyn Hopkins. James was a railroad worker, and Evelyn was a homemaker. Now with their oldest daughter, Ethel Mae, their family was complete.  James insisted on naming her after his mother, but Evelyn wanted to call her Margarette. A compromise was made. The name Mary was first, but the family would refer to her as Margarette. The family left Lynchburg and moved to Sumter, South Carolina, with a birth certificate that declared, through a clerical error, that Margarette was born on September 26^th.

All reports indicate that Margarette was an easy-going child with many friends. With her charming personality and shapely legs, Margarette was popular at Lincoln High School in Sumter, where she graduated in 1954.  She was part of the Health Club, the Commercial Club, and her ambition was to become a secretary. In her yearbook, although she was only five feet six inches tall, she willed her “tallness” to Margaret Jones.

After graduating high school, she lived at home, took on various jobs, and helped raise her nieces and nephew. In the evenings, she and Ethel Mae visited various clubs to see the latest musical acts, including an up-and-coming artist named James Brown. It was on one of these evenings out in 1961 that she met a handsome Airman named Clarence “Leon” Courns.  They started off on the wrong track, with Leon dumping both Ethel Mae and Margarette back home after discovering Margarette was sick. 

He had the audacity to call on Margarette the next day. 

A whirlwind romance ensued.  In 1962, when Leon got orders to ship out to Tampa, Florida, he called Margarette and told her to pack her bags. They were married in the base chapel on February 23, 1962.

 Margarette was able to see the world as she traveled with Leon to Maine, the Philippines, Kansas, and the Panama Canal Zone, where their only child, La-Drenthea “Drennie” Courns, was born in 1967. The Air Force wives provided a built-in friend group, and the couples would host evenings at different residences. Mary was an avid bowler and joined a league whenever she could.  The family settled in Southern California when Leon officially retired from the Air Force.  They joined Park Avenue Baptist Church in Riverside, California, where Leon served on the usher board, and Margarette sang in the choir and served as a church nurse.

Margarette and Leon were longstanding members of Riverside’s local Masonic organizations.  When Leon joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Margarette served in the auxiliary.

Mary’s Masonic alliances included:

• The Order of the Eastern Star, Queen Elizabeth #8 Riverside, CA, Golden State Grand Chapter, PHRA California Jurisdiction
• Heroines of Jericho, Stella Rebekah #47 Riverside, CA, PHRA California Jurisdiction
• Order of the Golden Circle Sunrise Assembly #273 Riverside, CA. Robert W. Brown Grand Council of Assemblies California
• Daughters of Isis, PHA Sheik Court #138 Oasis of Riverside Desert of California A.E.A. O.N.M.S. Illustrious Commandress 1994.

Margarette joined Williams Day Care Center in Riverside, California, where she was employed as a preschool teacher.  She joined the Long Beach Virginia Hospital as a medical supply technician. In the end, she and Leon divorced. Drennie married and settled in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and Mary moved from Riverside to Rancho to stay close. After her only grandchild, Symmone, was born, she used the proximity to stay involved, watching her every other Saturday and gifting loud toys with no volume control like only a doting grandmother could. She retired from the Virginia in 2005 after 13 years of service, including being named Employee of the Month in October 2004.

When Drennie’s husband received a job opportunity that required a move from California, Margarette joined the family in McKinney, Texas. She got her own apartment in a senior community where she had many friends and neighbors who loved her, but hated when she played bingo because she would win all the jackpots.

The family called her “Bionic” because over the years she had both hips replaced, both knees replaced, and both shoulders reconstructed. It was her recovery journey that inspired her granddaughter to pursue physical therapy.  In February 2020, she suffered a heart attack and underwent a double bypass, beating the odds and astounding her doctors with her tenacity and will to live.

Margarette transitioned from matriarch to ancestor on August 2, 2026, at the age of 90. The family will miss her wit, her love of gossip, and the collard greens recipe she was so proud of.

Margarette is preceded in death by her parents, James and Evelyn Hopkins; her sister, Ethel Mae Hopkins; and her niece, Harriet Houston (née Hopkins). Left to cherish her memory are her daughter Dren James (née Courns) of McKinney, Texas, son-in-law Eric James of McKinney, Texas; her granddaughter, Symmone James of McKinney, Texas; Her niece Beverly Hill of Riverdale, Georgia, her nephew Gregory Hopkins of Sumter, South Carolina, her niece Pam Hopkins of Sumter, South Carolina, her brother-in-law, Johnny Courns of Aurora, Colorado; and a host of nieces, nephews, and loving friends.

A family service will be held Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Job’s Mortuary in Sumter, South Carolina.  She will be interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Sumter, South Carolina